lurking
by puertoricanjane
Summary: "I wouldn't say they're lurking, per se," she said, after a moment of discerning silence, "just hanging out."


"Dad?"

Paula slowly approached her father; he was a jumpy individual by nature and prone to all manners of flailing as a result so sneaking up on him was something she was taking great pains to avoid. He had been on edge this past week and she resolved to finally get to the bottom of it; when she or her mother tried to ask why, he'd refuse to give them a straight answer and would then go back to glaring out the window like the flora had personally insulted him. Which wouldn't be so strange, she thought, if he was psychic too, but really, the plants had nothing but nice things to say about everyone when they weren't being trampled under the feet of the more careless kids at their preschool.

He had taken up his post by the window again, holding the slots of the blinds between his fingers and peering out with the severe expression he had been wearing more and more as of late. Paula was getting sick of it; she much preferred his goofy smiles.

She called out his name again, softly, as to not raise alarm and watched him jerk back as if he had been doing something wrong. He turned to her, trying not to look guilty and failing spectacularly.

"P-Paula!" he cried. "Shouldn't you be watching the kids?"

"Mom's got it covered." She edged closer to the window, trying to get a closer look at what had captured his attention so thoroughly, but he moved to block it from her. She raised an eyebrow, something she had learned from none other than Poo during their journey. Paula wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she secretly relished in any opportunity she had to exercise this skill. "What's got you so interested outside?"

"N-nothing, absolutely nothing!" he denied, waving his hands around frantically. "I think I hear your mother calling you. Shouldn't you go and see what she wants?"

If Paula weren't so frustrated with her dad's behavior lately, she'd be amused at how utterly terrible he was at lying. Instead she just rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, dad. Will you stop being so weird and fess up already?"

He hung his head with a heavy sigh and nodded, moving aside so she could see out of the window. She didn't see anything particularly out of the ordinary; everything was the same as it always was. She turned a confused gaze on him and he thankfully took it upon himself to explain; he waved a wide hand, which encompassed the street in front of them.

"The boys," he spat, startling her with the sudden venom in his voice. "Don't you see? They're always there, lurking outside the house for you."

Paula peered outside once more to get a better look at the boys in question. There was a small group of them huddled on the sidewalk, talking and laughing. One of them had a skateboard and was doing tricks with it; every once in a while, he would dart a hopeful glance up at her house as if hoping to impress someone with it, only to have a look of disappointment fleetingly cross his face when he didn't see who he was looking for.

"I wouldn't say they're lurking, per se," she said, after a moment of discerning silence, "just hanging out."

"They're lurking, Paula! And they're most likely up to no good!" her father cried, before muttering under his breath yet again as he glared viciously out the window. She couldn't make out much of what he was saying, but she was positive she heard something about no good hooligans after his precious daughter.

She smiled, touched by his concern for her even if it wasn't really warranted; she was a psychic powerhouse, after all, and could easily defend herself if it came to anything. She was convinced he was just blowing things out of proportion anyway. All the same, she put a calming hand on his shoulder and gave him her best reassuring smile, the one she had mastered in her time saving the world. It worked on Ness when he was Mushroomized so she was sure it'd do the trick on her father.

"I've seen a lot of lurking in my day, Dad. Trust me; I know it when I see it. And besides," she continued on before he could begin to splutter indignantly, "what makes them any different from the people who usually hang outside our house?"

It was a fair question; people often took to milling around Polestar Preschool due to Paula's almost celebrity status in the town. Word of her psychic abilities had broken out like wildfire when she was still very young and so it hadn't been uncommon for people to travel from all over just to catch a glimpse of the little girl who could set things on fire with her brain as well as do other fantastical things. Some of the hype had died down as she had gotten older, mostly due to her parents' protectiveness and refusal to make a side-show spectacle of her, but there was still quite a bit of mystery and fascination around her even now.

Her dad flushed and looked away; she couldn't tell if it was with anger, embarrassment, or a healthy mix of both. Feeling like she was finally getting close to an answer, she gently prodded him, "Dad?"

His face kept getting redder and redder, to the point where she was seriously considering telepathically calling her mother from the other room and telling her to bring a Hand-Aid, when he finally snapped, "No loiterer is going to date any daughter of mine!"

Paula stared blankly at him for a few moments, not entirely sure she heard him right, before bursting into peals of laughter. She had to lean on him to keep her balance, she was laughing so hard. Eventually, her giggles died off and she wiped a little tear from her eye before grinning up at the beautifully ridiculous man she called her father.

"Oh, dad," she said and she couldn't keep the fondness out of her voice even if she tried. "Is that what this is all about?"

He didn't say anything so she sighed and gave him a hug. Despite his current mood, it didn't take long for him to return it; she could always count on her dad to be a sucker for displays of affection. She pulled back to stare him in the face, grinning at the little smile she had successfully managed to put on it.

"Say one of them wants to date me," she said, having to smother another laugh at the way his eye twitched at the very notion. "I kind of have to, you know, agree to such a thing. Since that's not gonna happen any time soon, you can quit your worrying, alright?"

Her dad looked tremendously relieved, then more than a little embarrassed. He closed the blinds and finally stepped away from the window. "I guess I was being a little overprotective," he said sheepishly, just as Paula's mother happened to be entering from the other room.

Paula found her mother's comedic timing to be unmatched when she playfully called out, "You overprotective? Never!"

"What she said," Paula giggled.

Her mother soon joined them, wrapping an arm around her father's waist and flashing him a mischievous smile that sent warning bells ringing in Paula's mind.

"Honestly, dear," she told him fondly. "Paula's dating that nice boy in Onett so I don't know why you're fussing about boys in Twoson for."

Her dad froze and turned his head slowly to look at her; Paula held up her hands and barely resisted the urge to start backing away. Thanks mom, she thought sarcastically. Paula made sure to shove that thought towards her and glowered when all her mom did was cheerfully reply with a 'you're welcome!'

"I was going to tell you! It literally just happened and, well, Ness told me you gave him the okay to ask me out forever ago, which talk about premature much? We had only just saved the world," Paula started to babble, only to trail off in confusion when she saw that her father was smiling widely at this latest revelation. He was even nodding approvingly. Her mother just gave her a knowing look, grinning smugly.

"Now Ness is a good boy! Nothing like those hooligans outside. Honestly, who do those kids think they are, loitering in front of our property like that?"

He was muttering under his breath before long; she caught snatches of something about him calling the police. Paula didn't even point out that the boys weren't on their property at all and were, in fact, standing across the street, such was the extent of her relief. Instead, she used his momentary distraction as an excuse to flee the room, sighing and shaking her head when she was finally by her lonesome.

Still, it didn't take long for her lips to twitch upwards at the thought of telling Ness that her dad knew about them and would most likely want him over for dinner.


End file.
